


to hell with you

by orphan_account



Category: Final Fantasy IX
Genre: Character Study, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 21:00:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14839070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Creation is a beautiful thing. No one can deny that truth. To watch something be born, something have life breathed into it. The exact moment something soulless, essentially dead, becomes alive. Those were proud moments. Assuming, of course, there was capacity for pride.





	to hell with you

Creation is a beautiful thing. No one can deny that truth. To watch something be born, something have life breathed into it. The exact moment something soulless, essentially dead, becomes alive. Those were proud moments. Assuming, of course, there was capacity for pride.   
  
That was what had just happened. The life was artificial. It wasn’t produced in the natural way. It was synthesized, an imitation of life itself. Garland was proud of it. He was proud of this life form.   
  
It was a Genome, yes. This one, was different. A soul, this Genome was given, something the others lacked. Not a terribly complex soul, but a soul nonetheless.   
  
The Genome was produced much the same as the others prior, the same look to him. Blond hair, and typical attire for the Genomes.   
  
The only difference between this particular Genome and the others was a mind of his own. He was less mechanical than the others. With the presence of a soul, anything was possible.

* * *

For the first couple years, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. The Genome would read about the history of Terra, the Soul Cycle, some information on Gaia. These, however, were things every Genome had to do. They were expected to know of their fate. Though, Garland had told this Genome from the get go that he was special. He was different. It was the very beginnings of development of a haughty, arrogant, proud nature, one unbecoming of a Genome.   
  
A nature that would be his own undoing.

* * *

It wasn’t long after that, that Garland took the Genome down to Gaia. To show, to explain, to grant a task. The task to send the world into chaos.   
  
When arriving, the Genome screamed out, covering his eyes.   
  
The blue was blinding. It was revolting. To be fair, it could be seen from Terra. Even there, it was bright. Too bright. The light was bright, as if the sun had been right in front of his eyes, scorching. Burning. Yes, it burned.   
  
It took some time for the Genome to be able to see again. Even then, his vision was blurry. He saw the figure of Garland looking down at him. Garland hadn’t a single trace of worry for his prized Genome on his face. He was waiting. That’s what he was doing.   
  
When the Genome’s sight was clear enough to where everything wasn’t simply a blur of colors, he nodded. Now was the time for him to receive his task. What he had been created to do. What he had been studying for 2 years for. It was time to prove himself.   
  
The task seemed simple enough. Stop the circulation of souls by wreaking havoc on the planet. A task that would seem to be a specialty.   
  
The Genome stayed on Gaia when Garland left. He wanted to explore the lands, discover the geography. What good would starting wars do if he didn’t even know where he was?   
  
He travelled. His feet carried him to the Iifa Tree first. Once there, he descended down the multitude of lifts. Soon enough, the place started to radiate a green hue. This was a breath of fresh air compared to the harsh blue light of the rest of Gaia. Something must be different here.   
  
The farther he descended, the brighter the green got. It pulsed slightly, alive. He reached the bottom of the tree after some time. When he did, the pulsing became more evident. He sensed life, though the place was entirely empty. There was no one here, and yet, he felt a presence. A strong one, here within the core of the tree.   
  
He looked below, where the pulsing seemed to be emitting. What he saw below was breathtaking. It looked akin to a waterfall. Different, however. This wasn’t water, he knew that. The air was far too dense for it to be merely water.   
  
“What is this…?” the Genome questioned aloud.   
  
A small, yet audible groaning noise was heard. The groaning of branches. The young Genome jumped, readying himself for a fight.   
  
“Who’s there?!” he asked desperately. The tree, then… This must be the source of life. The liquid down below… the tree holds it all. What was this?   
  
“I could ask you the same. You are not Garland. Who are you, and why have you come?” The voice resounded inside the young Genome’s head, not unlike the way Garland and he communicated sometimes. Of course, how else would a tree speak to him? Trees don’t have mouths.   
  
“I’m…” It occurred to him too late that he had not yet been named. He had never been called by a name prior to this encounter. When Garland wanted to speak, he didn’t use a name to grasp the Genome’s attention. A full two years went by, and the Genome thought nothing of it.   
  
“Well?” The tree asked, impatient.   
  
“…I actually don’t know. I haven’t been given a name,” the Genome spoke softly. Was he not good enough to be named?   
  
He shook that thought immediately. No. Of course he was good enough. Why else would he be chosen to complete such an important task? The decision not to give the Genome a name was probably just some sort of oversight.   
  
“…I see. Would you answer my second question, then? Why have you come?”   
  
The Genome returned to his usual, haughty persona rather quickly after the tree spoke.   
  
“I’m here on a mission from Garland. He asked that I bring about the ruination of this planet.”   
  
The tree was quiet for a moment.   
  
“How do you intend to bring about such destruction? This world is not as small as you may think. This will take time.”   
  
The Genome scoffed a bit. A tree, doubting his abilities? Ridiculous.   
  
“I know it will take time,” the Genome said, irritated at the sound of doubt in the trees voice. “I have more than enough time.”   
  
The tree was silent after that, and the young Genome took that as a cue to leave the Tree. For now, he was done with the place.   
  
Once he was back outside, he was overwhelmed with blue a second time over. Though not nearly as bad as the first, it was still blinding. The color, still as revolting as ever.   
  
He decided to head back to Terra, having had enough of Gaia for the time being. When he would return, he would ask Garland about a name. It would appear that Gaia was oriented around names. He would need one if he were to do anything of importance there.

* * *

Eventually, he got back to the Shimmering Island, and got teleported back to Terra.   
  
It had been almost two weeks since the Genome had left, and now that he had returned, he noticed for the first time out outrageously bland and colorless the place was in comparison to Gaia. Though the brilliant yet revolting blue light still made its way here, it was bearable. He was used to it in these quantities. This felt natural to him. Drab, yes, but this planet was already dead. There’s never much color in cemeteries.   
  
“Welcome back,” one of the Genomes interjected with about as much enthusiasm as a soulless being can produce. It wasn’t much.   
  
He just walked past the soulless being, not particularly caring for them much at all. He was better, and had no time for lesser beings. That was all there was to it.   
  
The trek to Pandemonium took some time, roughly an hour. He did get to Garland eventually, however.   
  
He walked into the room where Garland was residing. Not exactly a room, however. More like a perch, where he could gaze out at the endless expanse of decay. Everything was dead or dying. The place always unsettled the young Genome.   
  
“Garland.”   
  
He, without turning around, answered, “Yes?”   
  
“I wanted to ask you about my name.”   
  
Garland sighed. It was really only a matter of time before the young one caught on. It took far longer than he had expected however.   
  
Garland saw little point in giving this failure a name. Pride turned shame, that’s all the Genome was now. He was a failure, yet still useful. He would have to wait now, to find his mistakes and fix them in the next one. Meanwhile, he would…   
  
“Garland? What is it?”   
  
He sighed yet again. “You believe a given name has meaning?”   
  
This made the Genome stop in his tracks for a split second. Did a name have any real meaning? A given name is meant to offer a sense of individuality, of uniqueness. Was this not so? Was he mistaken? He had gone this long without need for a name, was having one really so important?   
  
That thought got erased from his mind immediately. Of course he needed one. He had to be differentiated from those… dolls back at Bran Bal. He needed a name. To be unique. A consuming, desperate need.   
  
Through all this thought, Garland spoke once more. “If you truly desire a name so desperately, I shall give you one. Your name shall be Kuja. Now, I believe you have duties to attend to. You may leave.”   
  
Kuja… That was a nice name. Satisfied, he skipped off, away from Garland.   
  
Garland continued to stare out at Terra, closing his eyes.   
  
“Soon,” Garland mumbled, “I won’t have a choice.”

* * *

Nearly three years later, Kuja is now five years old. He continues to go between Terra and Gaia, finding new information with each traverse.   
  
Something now, however, had Kuja a bit worried. He hadn’t seen much of Garland since he had been given his name. He wasn’t too worried, though. He supposed Garland was rather busy. Not that he actually cared what the old fool was doing at any moment.   
  
Kuja’s intuition just told him something was off. Something was very wrong.

* * *

Two years later, Kuja is now age seven. However, age doesn’t matter in his case. He was born an adult. He had no childhood or any real childhood to speak of. A fact that hindered him endlessly.   
  
He had taken a sort of liking to Gaia. Compared to the bleak, boring life on Terra, it was a breath of fresh air, so to speak. In the literal sense too, however. Being away from the decaying world of Terra proved to be of aid. He didn’t think he would ever get accustomed to that accursed blue, however. It was no matter.   
  
On Gaia, he found ways to individualize himself. Changing his hair, the way he dressed, his dialect. It made him glad, as he could now stand out from the other Genomes. In fact, he hardly considered them one and the same anymore. He hardly considered himself a Genome, much preferring the way of individuality compared to the uniformity of the Genomes.   
  
Life on Terra was getting quite drab. He didn’t quite care to return, but he had. He liked to stay in the know of what was happening in his home. Despite all fights against it, he still considered this place home, for the time being.   
  
When he walked in, he was greeted with an unfamiliar face. A small one. What the Gaians would call a child. The concept was nonexistent on this planet. No Genome aged, therefore, they had to be made older. Himself included, however, he did age. This… child seemed to be quite young, no more than five years old. It was disorienting, disturbing. The sight of the thing made him bristle, not unlike a cat with his hackles up.   
  
The child smiled innocently, which bothered him, to say the least. The moment it all started spiraling downhill was when Garland walked in, and put his hand on the child’s shoulder.   
  
Kuja’s look was one of outrage for a split second before he covered it up. He smiled, poison practically dripping from his mouth as he did so. It was forced, naturally.   
  
“Who’s this?” He asked, his voice sarcastically sing-song.   
  
Garland looked at Kuja.   
  
“This is your brother, Zidane.”   
  
The moment that name slid off Garland’s tongue, he committed it to memory. The child hadn’t even done anything and he had already gotten on his bad side.   
  
It couldn’t be helped, however. Why did Kuja need a brother? He was fine on his own, and he sure as hell did not need this child getting in his way.   
  
However, he would play nice for the time being. Only for now. Only until he could put whatever twisted plan to get rid of this child as quickly as possible into action.   
  
With that, he crouched down, getting eye level with his little “brother”. He patted the child’s filthy head twice, a dangerously sweet smile plastered onto his face.   
  
The child was a nuisance already and he hadn’t even uttered a single word. He had to be disposed of, quickly.   
  
After he had stayed for a couple more minutes, he couldn’t take it anymore. He had to go somewhere. Anywhere but here.   
  
Once he knew he was out of the sight of everyone, he ran. He wouldn’t stop running until he was back in Gaia, and then he ran some more. He had to get out of Terra. No… He had to get that…  _ thing _ out. Kuja wasn’t the problem. It was the child.   
  
How to go about disposal, however…   
  
This would take time. It would take valuable time, time wasted on watching Garland, waiting for an opportune moment to take the little monster away.

* * *

A full four years passed, Kuja was now eleven. Throughout the four years, Kuja had been up to more things immoral than actually good. He was nice to Zidane, for the most part. The politeness was almost solely due to obligation, as throughout all four years, he still considered the child a demon incarnate. The child had taken the spotlight off Kuja, something that should never be done.   
  
Kuja was the star. He was here first. He didn’t need back ups. He didn’t need reinforcement. Most of all, he didn’t need Zidane.   
  
Since the creature was born, Garland began focusing his attention on Zidane. This infuriated Kuja. It infuriated him more than he would care to admit. Zidane had no right to exist. Kuja probably could have killed the child at any point during those arduous four years.   
  
What he had planned now, however. This would be a finale for the history books.   
  
Kuja would exile Zidane himself. He would take him unto Gaia, and leave him there, never to return back to Terra. He won’t have to share a spotlight anymore. Regardless of the consequence, he’s ready to face it.   
  
The chance he had been waiting for all this time had finally presented itself. Garland, distracted while Kuja was at Terra. He didn’t like spending too much time there, since the demon child was there. That wouldn’t be the way for too much longer.   
  
Kuja walked up to the young one, careful to keep quiet so that the old fool couldn’t listen in.   
  
“Zidane,” he said as he crouched down to the child’s level. He smiled and, for the first time, it was genuine. This was a first around Zidane, at least. Though the reasoning behind the smile was sinister, he tried not to let that shine through. “Do you want to see something neat?”   
  
The young boy was still hopelessly gullible, a fatal side effect of youth. He smiled, and nodded.   
  
They started to walk off, and Zidane started humming. Kuja swiftly swung around, and made a shushing movement.   
  
“This is secret. If you do that, you’ll blow our cover, understood?”   
  
Zidane seemed startled for a minute, but understood well enough to keep quiet. They walked down to the portal to Gaia, and Zidane was in awe. He had never seen it before. This was going to be too easy.   
  
Naturally, Kuja had a way of getting somewhere far away from the portal. A dragon. One of the dragons that inhabited the place, was waiting outside the portal. He had asked Garland if he could take one out to Gaia, seeing as traveling by boat wasn’t convenient. The old fool agreed, seeing nothing wrong with the idea, much to the delight of Kuja.   
  
This would be Zidane’s first time on Gaia. His plan was to drop him off in some faraway town. It didn’t matter, so long as he was deposited on Gaia, somewhere the old fool’s eyes couldn’t reach.   
  
Of course, the thought of simply killing Zidane ran through his mind a few times. It would be easy, with the effects of a first time to Gaia in effect.   
  
He decided against the idea, mainly because he knew Garland would find out about it somehow. He also knew of Garland’s capabilities, what Garland could do to Kuja if he know that he killed Zidane.   
  
Garland could, and probably would, kill Kuja. If not kill, then just rid him of every bit of individuality he possessed, making him just like the lifeless puppets residing in Bran Bal.   
  
Kuja refused to stand for that. He refused to die, and he refused to give up his soul for the sake of never having to see a wretch again.   
  
No. He would never let that happen. He wouldn’t lose his soul over a child.   
  
He showed Zidane the portal.   
  
"This is where we’ll be going. You won’t be able to see for a while, but that’s what this planet does,” Kuja explained. He was more giddy than he should have felt. He would finally be able to get rid of this pest once and for all.   
  
Zidane nodded, helplessly excited to go somewhere new for the first time.   
  
Kuja wasn’t exactly sure what one was supposed to do when traveling with another person. He hadn’t done it in almost ten years, and the last time he did, Garland kept his hand on Kuja’s shoulder. He supposed it was a safety precaution, to make sure nothing screwed up.   
  
There was no way in hell he was touching that brat, but it didn’t look like he had much of a choice.   
  
Kuja held out his hand, and Zidane grabbed on. Kuja wanted to get to Gaia as soon as possible. This was the moment he had been waiting years for. He wasn’t going to let it get interrupted.   
  
Very soon, they were on Gaia. The first thing that came to Kuja’s ears was the sound of a bloodcurdling screech. He looked down, Zidane had let go of Kuja’s hand in favor of having both of his hands over his eyes, which Kuja didn’t mind in the slightest.   
  
“It’s going to hurt like that for a bit,” Kuja said calmly, barely able to keep the excitement out of his voice. “Just try to keep your hands over your eyes.”   
  
Zidane nodded. Kuja then picked the child up, and put him on the dragon. Zidane had seen these dragons before. The silver dragons were native to Terra, after all. No comment was made, something Kuja was glad for. That voice was entirely too high pitched for his liking. Were all children this annoying?   
  
Once they were both secured on the dragon, they took flight. Kuja still didn’t know a some of the areas in this world. A lot of places came to mind when he was picking a place to drop Zidane off. He would need to make haste, however. Zidane wouldn’t stay blind forever, and Kuja needed to be gone before the devil regained his ability to see.   
  
One place came to mind: Lindblum. He had never visited the place himself, but he didn’t need to know where Zidane was going. The pest just needed to be cast away once and for all.

* * *

It didn’t take too long to get to Lindblum on the dragon, thankfully. Zidane still had his hands over his eyes, unable to move them due to the intense blue.   
  
Kuja landed in a bit of land a bit farther off from Lindblum than he had hoped, but it worked all the same. He picked Zidane up, and started walking towards the town. He dropped him off right at the front gate.   
  
“Stay here. I’ll be back,” said Kuja, and Zidane just nodded.   
  
The job was complete. Successfully planted somewhere beyond Garland’s grasp. That would teach the old fool.   
  
Kuja turned around, and walked back to his dragon calmly. Every obstacle was out of the way. The real star had made his role in this little drama clear.   
  
Kuja then flew off, back to the portal to Terra, never to see Zidane’s demon face ever again.

* * *

Zidane waited and waited, the blue eventually fading away. He was able to see clearly again, but there was no one in sight. Where had Kuja gone? He said he would be back, but he had been waiting for several hours now. It was starting to get dark, and Zidane started to worry.   
  
The young Genome was right by a town, so he thought it would be wise to enter. It would be better than staying in the dark all night. Outside, where there were monsters.   
  
He entered the large town of Lindblum, amazed. He had never seen a place so large before, having only seen Bran Bal as a place of residence. This place was huge. The question still remained, where was Kuja? Perhaps in this town, but for now, he would seek out residency. It would all start there.

* * *

When Kuja arrived back at Terra, Garland still hadn’t suspected a thing. At this, he smirked a bit, and went back to his quarters to relax for a bit. To touch up on his knowledge on the Soul Cycle, of Terra, of everything.   
  
In all actuality, he just wanted to see the old fool’s face when he realized his precious Genome was gone.   
  
The moment came sooner than he would expect. Garland opened the door with a force, something Kuja had never seen before. It terrified him a bit, though not enough for the smirk to fall off his face.   
  
Garland looked absolutely livid.   
  
The old man stepped in front of Kuja, his hands behind his back. He took a deep breath.   
  
“You have five minutes to explain yourself.”   
  
The smirk on Kuja’s face only grew wider.   
  
“I don’t believe I know what you’re talking about, Garla–”   
  
He was cut off by a metallic hand around his throat, picking him up off the deep red couch he was on. He couldn’t breathe.   
  
He was surely going to die.   
  
“I do not have time for your games, Kuja. You are to tell me what you did with Zidane, or you will suffer the consequences.”   
  
There was little point in Kuja hiding his fear now. Garland knew he was terrified.   
  
Kuja had severely miscalculated. He hadn’t expected this kind of reaction. A bit of scolding, sure. He didn’t expect Garland to be this angry at all.   
  
He could legitimately die right now.   
  
That thought terrified him to the very bone. His eyes started to water, both from fear and from the pain of the hand around his throat.   
  
Kuja took about as deep a breath as he could with a hand clenched around his throat.   
  
“I put him on Gaia,” he said, voice raspy and faint. “I don’t know where he is. He’s not dead.”   
  
With that, Kuja was dropped. He coughed, trying to regain the air he had lost.   
  
The answer Garland had received hadn’t pleased him. This was made apparent.   
  
“You are not to travel to and from here any longer. Pick where you are to stay, as it will be your last travel. You will choose before the day is out.”   
  
With that, Garland turned around, not sparing a glance back at the Genome on the ground.   
  
This was how it would be? Garland no longer found any use for him, was that it? This would not do. Not at all.   
  
He would go to Gaia. He would thwart Garland’s plans out of sight. It wouldn’t do to do anything on Terra. There was nothing to do here. On Gaia, there was far more to do, out of the grasp and out of sight of Garland.   
  
Kuja would make Garland understand. Kuja didn’t need a brother. He didn’t need siblings. The Genome wasn’t stupid. He knew Garland made that demon as a replacement for Kuja, if he were to fail. The old fool should know better by now.   
  
Kuja didn’t fail. He wasn’t a failure, and he didn’t intend to become one, either.   
  
He would thwart Garland’s plans, and kill the runt all in one fell swoop. Then, Kuja would prove his superiority, showing that he was the only one needed.   
  
With that, he departed for Gaia for the last time.

**Author's Note:**

> i actually wrote this years ago, i just edited a few things lol. this is the only ff9 fic i plan on posting sorry. back to regularly scheduled dgm lol


End file.
